It is known in clinical analyzers to use as the test vehicle, slide test elements bearing all the reagents in dried form as coatings in the test element, these elements being provided in a cartridge. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. Re 30,595.
In a recently introduced analyzer available from Eastman Kodak Company under the trademark Ektachem 250, such test elements receive either a biological sample from a patient, or such a sample diluted with a diluent. The diluent can be used to predilute various body fluids (urine) for out of range samples, and to introduce additional reagents required. In that analyzer, dilution requires the use of special diluent-containing bottles and specialized mixing cups, both of which have to be handled at a separate station, with specialized equipment. Not only are such cups and bottles fairly large, compared to say, a test element, but also they can not be processed by the same automated handlers that move and process a test element.
Accordingly, prior to this invention, there has been a need for a simpler, smaller container to provide for dilution in an analyzer that uses slide test elements.